In May 2018 I became ill while holidaying in Hawaii. I couldn’t seem to shake it on my return to Oz and then in August I collapsed, fell unconscious and was taken to hospital via ambulance. The broken nose and ribs were painful and my neck was sore but not broken, and thankfully all scans and tests proved normal.
Still, I felt extremely fatigued and my entire body ached.
Then came the mental confusion. I was a writer, I had just published a book, I had bookings for author talks and I simply could not recall everyday words. I had no choice but to cancel all appointments. As my condition worsened, my joints ached until I found it hard to walk. I was constantly fatigued and I developed what my husband and I half-jokingly called, ‘the six pm shuffle.’ My husband was concerned, to put it mildly. He was rapidly becoming my carer; a role he took on willingly but one neither of us ever envisaged in our 50s.
Doctors were at a loss, blood tests proved negative. A friend recommended a doctor of integrative medicine, who eventually diagnosed fibromyalgia, a disease of unknown origin and time span. My research into this condition left me in despair and although I was eating a suitcase full of supplements the GP had prescribed, I knew I had to keep on searching for an answer. I made an appointment with a rheumatologist, a six week wait, as my main concern apart from fatigue and mental confusion was joint pain. Now, stooped over, aching all over, in extreme fatigue, with brain fog, depression set in.
One morning I woke to a memory of a spiritual healing I’d had years prior when going through emotional trauma. It resonated and I Googled healers in my local area of Avalon and called the number of Vicki Huston, Northern Beaches Reiki. Vicki’s calm and soothing voice wooed me and we made an appointment for the following day.
Vicki is one of Earth’s rare gems. Her empathy, compassion, understanding, knowledge of her art and spiritual awareness are, in my humble opinion, second to none. I credit her with my healing. Of course, a woman of deep humility, Vicki would dispute this. She believes that one heals themselves and that she is simply the portal for one to access spiritual energy. She is right, of course. But without her divine and caring hands, her generous spirit, and heavenly treatment rooms perched upon a tree-and-bird filled escarpment overlooking Pittwater, I doubt that I would have been able to connect with that energy and enlightenment.
I was finally diagnosed with a viral infection, probably contracted in Hawaii, that reactivated the Epstein-Barr Virus, which entered my brain. The rheumatologist found the EBV antibodies in blood tests. Nearly all of us have been infected with EBV at some stage. It’s responsible for illnesses such as mononucleosis, glandular fever, herpes, HIV etc, and it’s a nasty, nasty creature. I’ve been told that it’s one of the rare viruses that can permeate the blood-brain barrier.
There’s no ‘cure’, only time. The EBV will go dormant again, I feel it happening, but I know my body and brain have been affected. Reiki has helped enormously to still me, to calm and soothe that brain, which, after all, controls the body. I have never experienced such deep states of relaxation than with reiki.
And Vicki.
Reiki is a method of working with energy to allow the body to clear itself. It’s that simple. I encourage you all to give it a try. Whatever you’re going though, emotionally, spiritually, physically, psychologically, your body can heal itself. You simply need to be willing to put yourself first, close down the ‘chatter’ and trust in reiki.
And Vicki. Bless her.
Jacqueline Byrne